Conquest

Conquest Mode defines the starting state of the gameworld. It is a vital part of character creation and sets the stage for the game's story, defining the fate of many settlements, their relations with each other and you, available quests, and so on and so forth.

Description
During the Conquest you will decide your character's actions during Kyros' invasion of the Tiers, shaping the world through which you will adventure over the course of the game. Each choice you make affects your character and how major factions of the Tiers respond to you. So choose wisely.

Flow of Conquest Mode
The Conquest mode follows a branching path, allowing you to choose between combat and governance assignments. Each year, you can choose one assignment to focus on (for a total of three) and make decisions for. Each assignment will also feature three minor decisions along two paths (typically open combat and subterfuge), with a major one deciding the fate of the area.

Ultimately, you will wind up casting one of Kyros' Edicts. {| ! width="200px" |428 TR ! ! width="200px" |429 TR ! ! width="200px" |430 TR ! ! →

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428 TR: Bastard City
"The Bastard City stood on the northern border between Kyros' Empire and the Tiers. Built upon a natural harbor at the crossroads between realms, the city was a nexus of commerce. To the Tiers, it was the center of all wealth. To a northerner, it was little more than a backwater trading post. Its symbolic status as a gateway to the continent made it a natural first target in Kyros' military conquest. Circumstances were ideal for you to prove your worth as a soldier in Kyros' armies.

Taking this city would send a message to the rest of the Tiers: Kyros' will is insurmountable."

Apex
"The mountain nation of Apex, ruled for generations by the Queens of House Vendrien, stood at the heart of the Tiers. No army could bypass the landlocked realm without leaving their flank exposed to attack.

By the second year of the war, the Disfavored and Scarlet Chorus had pushed deep into the Tiers. Elements of both armies were dispatched to conquer Apex. Tunon assigned you to accompany them, tasked with bringing Kyros' law to the territory as well as keeping an eye on both armies."

Lethian's Crossing
"Deposits of iron made the settlement of Lethian's Crossing a strategic war asset. Kyros sent the Forge-Bound, smith-mages of exceptional skill, to establish a flow of weaponry. Tunon the Adjudicator sent one of his Fatebinders to ensure the enforcement of Kyros' law."

430 TR
"The army front advanced further into the Tiers. Your skills were needed in the Realm of Azure, Stalwart, or the Vellum Citadel."

Azure
"The nation of Azure, once the richest settlement of the Tiers, sat on a verdant, fertile plain. As the Disfavored clashed with Azure's defenders, the Scarlet Chorus contended against the region's tribal Beastmen, who protected their ancestral lands with incredible fury. Kyros dispatched the Archon Cairn to break the stalemate and force Azure into submission. The colossal man of stone and flesh arrived as instructed, but earning his cooperation was a tall order, even for you."

"With the lands blighted and unrecognizable, the realm of Azure was left utterly ruined by the events of the war. In times to come, the Tiers would call this blasted region the 'Stone Sea' - for the treacherous rock formations and persistent quakes became the defining features of this once this once-verdant land.

The Scarlet Chorus established a sprawling camp in the shattered, rocky terrain - and quickly absorbed those displaced by the upheaval of the land. These hapless refugees were put to work as slaves and soldiers, and the Chorus slowly built themselves a makeshift fortress in the blighted, quake-ridden realm.

Your tour of duty in the broken lands of Azure was complete. You didn't have long to rest before Tunon called you into service once more..."

- Conclusion of the Azure campaign

Vellum Citadel
"The Vellum Citadel was an archive and library of massive scale. Its inhabitants were known as the School of Ink and Quill, a circle of mages that, centuries ago, carved out their own mountainous refuge on lands unsettled by the other major realms.

Legends said that the Citadel housed a treasure trove of arcane knowledge. The Overlord's spies infiltrated the school and confirmed as much. The time was ripe to send a detachment to the great library fortress, and force the scholars to yield to Kyros."

"The armies of Kyros left the devastation of the Vellum Citadel in silence. From that day forward, the Tiers came to know the once-noble citadel as the 'Burning Library.'

This was an undisputed loss - of resources, knowledge, culture and life. But a message had been sent: the Overlord will not tolerate defiance.

You didn't have long to rest before Tunon called you into service once more. You were one of the last to depart from mountains, and as you journeyed off, you spotted a few campfires in the mountains. They were mere specks, dwarfed by the inferno, the last gasps of survivors, or perhaps looters from Kyros' armies bored and daring enough to pick through the ashes."

- Conclusion of the Contested Lands campaign

Stalwart
"The Realm of Stalwart was best known for its proud army - disciplined, courageous, and undefeated on their home soil. Skill and resolve made Stalwart a military power that Kyros' forces approached with due caution.

With its southern position, Stalwart had been largely safe from war - watching for two years as its neighbors fell to Kyros' forces. On the dawn of the third year of war, Kyros' forces were finally poised to invade the Stalwart peninsula, and subdue the Tier's most vaunted army."

"The clear skies darkened as you read the final words of the Edict. A flurry of wind and rain whipped through the rolling plains and craggy canyons, turning rocks, uprooted trees, and hapless soldiers into hazardous shrapnel. Armed with a measure of foresight, you were able to remove yourself from the area before the storms grew more violent. Over time, nearby communities told of cyclones consisting of thousands of soldiers' worth of limbs, spears, armor, and skulls. What's more, the weather showed no sign of dissipating.

Several units of Disfavored, who fought the enemy in spite of the advancing storm, were caught up in the Overlord's magic. The few survivors regrouped and nursed their wounds. Their failure to topple the Stalwart legion shamed them into believing the dead more fortunate.

The name 'Stalwart' fell from use. People took to calling it the 'Blade Grave,' for the remade landscape festooned with the iron and bronze armaments of two once-great legions.

As Kyros' forces departed, you spared a glance back at the ruins of Stalwart, marveling at your work. You didn't have long to rest before Tunon called you into service once more..."

- Conclusion of the Stalwart campaign